LACON — At least two groups are interested in growing medical marijuana in Marshall County, and the County Board offered support Thursday to one that requested that step.

The board voted 7-2 to send a letter to William J. Mennie, president of Mennie Machine Co. in Mark, stating support for interest that a group he heads has expressed in developing a cannabis cultivation center at a rural Lacon Township location that the board would not specify.

“We believe that the suggested site is well suited for the proposed use and welcome the new development,” the board said in a letter signed by Chairman Gary Kroeschen.

Although Mennie was not at the meeting, the marijuana subject was on the agenda, and the online posting had caught the attention of a Chicago-area attorney representing a recently formed company that also is targeting Marshall County for a possible project.

Illinois Agriculture Investments LLC includes investors from Marshall, Peoria and Tazewell counties who hope that an 80-acre rural site can become the one licensed cultivation center to be allowed in Illinois State Police District 8, said attorney Neal B. McQueeney of LaGrange Park.

“We’re working on an option” for that property, said McQueeney, who declined to specify the location or identify any investors. He and Mark Farner of LaGrange Park are listed as LLC managers in state records.

District 8 includes Marshall, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell and Woodford counties. A different developer hopes to obtain the one license for a Delavan facility, but the state has not finalized rules or begun accepting applications.

Mennie group representatives met with Kroeschen, zoning committee chairman Brad Lindstrom and zoning administrator Patrick Sloan, officials said. Mennie earlier received a statement of support from the village of Mark for a possible facility in District 17, which includes Bureau, LaSalle and Putnam counties.

“They indicated that they would probably be applying for licenses in three districts,” Kroeschen said.

The Mennie plan would be expected to generate 30 to 40 jobs paying $16 to $20 an hour, Kroeschen said. The other proposal would entail 50 to 60 at similar pay, McQueeney said.

“The economic boost and job creation for our community will be much appreciated,” stated the board’s letter to Mennie.

No letter was to be sent to the other group because it had not been requested, Kroeschen said after the meeting. McSweeney had left by then, but said by email later that, “We will formally request a letter of support.”

Sue McGrath and Vicki Waldschmidt voted against stating county support for a cannabis project.

“I worked with too many young people who were high on marijuana,” said McGrath, a retired teacher who scoffed when told it would be for medical use only. “That’s what they said about those (antihistamine) pills that they have to keep behind the counter now because people use them to make meth.”

Unlike Delavan, where the proposal has involved city zoning changes and annexation, no regulatory action appears necessary in rural Marshall County, officials said.

“The way we look at it is, it’s a greenhouse,” Lindstrom said. “It’s a permitted use in ag.”

Gary L. Smith can be reached at (800) 516-0389 or glsmith@mtco.com. Read his Northern Circuit blog at pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Glsmithx.